ACOUSTIC PIANOS AT MICKLEBUGH

Where two acoustic pianos are of the same quality of build, the bigger piano will have a better sound.  This is because the strings are longer.  A pitch of a string is determined by the tension, length and mass; so if a string is longer but needs to be at the same tension (to create the same note), you need a thinner string.  Thinner strings vibrate more easily which, alongside a bigger soundboard/amplifier gives you a better sound. 

Where the quality of materials of a piano are better, an instrument will need more time setting up to make the most of these materials.  For mass produced pianos, there is a certain amount of time allocated for every task needed to build a piano (usually around 18 minutes).  This means that on a production line, you get different people working on different sections of a piano and you only ever get an average of everybody’s work. 

High quality pianos both have a higher potential and one technician working on a piano to get the best out of it.  They will spend a huge amount of time voicing, toning and regulating each individual piano. 

You could say a piano is as good as the technicians that have worked on it.  The cheaper mass produced pianos probably have more potential but because pianos are built to a price point, it is not worth spending the time and money improving them.  Those choosing entry level pianos may not notice so much, because technically they are not going to use the piano to its full potential anyway.  Beginners are not going to be playing fast runs, repeated notes, hugely varied dynamics and articulation or other techniques where they need the piano to respond as quickly and sensitively as intermediate to professional players. 

Our second hand pianos are properly set up and serviced in our workshops, which is reflected in the price compared to those found for sale privately. 

Attention to detail is key for a technician working on a piano.  With 5000 working parts, measuring the details in those parts when designing a piano can make the difference.  For example, high quality manufacturers like Bechstein will actually measure the friction in the flange pin to make sure it is working at its absolute best.

A top quality piano will respond quickly and to the softest touch because of the quality, set-up and design of all the parts in the piano action.  There will also be a huge variation in the tone of a note depending how it is played due to the quality soundboard.

New pianos will have a longer life as pianos do deteriorate over time.  There is also an argument to say as a piano settles it will get used to how it is being played.  A classical or jazz pianist will have a very different style of playing.  Pianos are like living instruments, they are primarily made of wood, so it will respond mainly to how it has been played.  It will begin to respond appropriately to a players touch.  Having said this, because acoustic pianos last decades, depending on your budget, a second hand piano offers great value for money as they are likely to have many more years of life left in them.

Vibrations, resonances, and many nuances are not present in a digital instrument.  There is only a particular number of ways of playing a note that will be sampled for a digital piano.   These will be calculated by a computer and any gaps will be filled in by a computer called modelling.  A sample will be restricted by memory as the more memory, the less responsive the instrument will be. 

An acoustic piano needs to be set up and working properly which can cost more than the price of a digital instrument.  For this reason we only sell second hand pianos that have life left in and are worth spending the time on.  Digitals provide a good instrument for certain price range. 

There are also many other benefits of buying a digital piano over an acoustic, the main being able to plug in headphones for silent practice and connectivity to apps & software. 

Hybrid pianos however offer the best of both worlds.  Read more about the difference between pianos in our piano buying guide blog.